WU sweeps Northwest MIssouri

Topeka Capital-Journal, The, Oct 16, 2004 by Ken Corbitt Capital-Journal

By Ken Corbitt

THE CAPITAL-JOURNAL

Washburn may have started the games slowly, but the Lady Blues were strong closers.

Washburn had closing runs of 6-1, 8-4 and 10-0 to post a 3-0 sweep over Northwest Missouri State in an MIAA volleyball match on Friday at Lee Arena. The No. 15 Lady Blues retained their hold on second place in the conference with a 30-25, 30-27, 30-20 victory over the Bearcats.

"There always was a point when the game was close, and then we pulled away," WU coach Chris Herron said. "We always talk about finishing, and once you get them down, don't let them back in. Those are the typical coach's cliches, but they're all true."

Emily Foster had 14 kills and 12 digs while Dani McHenry had 10 kills and 10 digs for the Lady Blues (21-3, 8-2 MIAA).

Mandi Cox, a freshman middle hitter out of Central Heights High School, drew a starting assignment and came through with eight kills, seven in the final game.

"I'm excited for Mandi Cox," Herron said. "We didn't give her a ball in game two, and in game three she went crazy."

Ashley Smith started at setter and had 25 assists, and Julie Sackman, who missed seven matches with a stress fracture in her foot, played for the second time this week and contributed 17 assists.

Washburn hit only .191 in the match, but Northwest Missouri (12- 14, 3-7 MIAA) hit .099.

"We did a really nice job of knowing that (Lauren Cummings) was going to get the ball for them," Herron said. "She hit .712 against Rockhurst the other day, and we focused on her."

Cummings had five kills while Steph Suntken led the Bearcats with 10.

"We did a nice job," Herron said. "We had one little stretch in game two where we didn't ball-handle well, but overall it was a nice match."

The Lady Blues are back in action today, facing No. 3 Truman State at 5 p.m. at Lee Arena. The Bulldogs (23-0, 10-0 MIAA) won 3-0 at Emporia State on Friday. Washburn lost 3-1 at Truman last month.

"I hope our kids come in with a lot of confidence," Herron said. "Truman is a very good team, and we're going to have to be better than we were tonight to be successful."

Ken Corbitt can be reached

at (785) 295-1123

or ken.corbitt@cjonline.com.